CHAPTER 3

New Macao, Liao Commonality,
Capellan Confederation,
May 5, 3073

The mission was a success, but it alerted the Capellan units about the mercenary's presence. Heavy and assaults mechs guarded key positions, and the number of patrols doubled over the last two weeks. It became increasingly hard for the Lexington Legends to hit their next target.

However, things started to lighten up when Commander Korra managed to strike a deal with Davion loyalists on the planet. The guerilla fighters agreed to help the Lexington Legends for half of the salvage rights. It was a hefty price tag for a fighting group that didn't even have battlemechs, but the Legends could use any help.

"Our objective is the old FedCom HPG Uplink at Nav Point Zeta," Commander Korra explained. "Liao intelligence has been using it to disrupt logistic lines among Davion forces in this area. They tap into Davion comlinks and ambush ships. The HPG Uplink is located in a snowy wasteland with no barriers within a few clicks. The problem is, the Capellan has reinforced the HPG station with big guns. Heavy and assault mechs are reported in the area. They know they can't lose this HPG uplink. Fortunately, so do we.

"So here is what we are going to do. Pursuit Lance, you draw fire this time. Make a lot of noise in the immediate vicinity so they think you're coming for the HPG station. They will send their sluggers to deal with you. But don't fret, Davion paramilitary will back you up. They will send their gunships and armor assets to fight the Liao. There's not much to expect from these amateurs, but at least Liao guns will not be on you all the time.

"When Liao defense shifts, Command and Support Lances will strike. We only have one shot and the window is very narrow, so watch your fire. Get in, get the target, and get out before they know what hit them. When mission is accomplished, rendezvous at Nav Point Epsilon.

"This is going to be tight. Speed is the name of the game. Everybody moves at maximum speed. You drag your feet, angry Liaos will eat you alive. Let's move out, Legends!"

Neptune paced his Hermes to a sprint, tightening up the formation with the rest of the Pursuit Lance. His mech had undergone intensive repair to replace the missing armor platings, and top off coolant, although he didn't think he would need it considering the frigid ambient temperature. The Wolfhound and Battle Hawk had been rebuilt with new structures and weapons, and the Wolftrap's LB-10X had been refilled. All systems nominal.

Blazing across the great white plain was uneventful until they were a couple of clicks from Nav Point Zeta. A convoy popped up on the radar, a series of J-27 and half a dozen trucks, escorted by only a lance of Succession-War-era Galleon tanks.

"What d'yerr say we make some noise?" the lance commander chimed. "That's the lady said, make some noise. Them J-27 make lots of noise if they stuffed with ammo! Break formation, fire at will! Chew their asses, them bastards!"

The surge of adrenaline gave Neptune a boost in morale. This line of job was more exciting than the entire 5 years of construction work. He did hear some telltales from the battlefield, some dribs and drabs about fools that didn't make it back home. Fools that thought they were invincible inside their battlemechs. But it was hard not to think that way. The raw firepower of a battlemech – any battlemech - was beyond real.

Engaging MASC, Neptune charged the convoy, determined to be the first to cut off the slow-moving vehicles. The Galleons turned around and boxed him in, but he easily dodged their laser volleys. The transports spread out in evasive maneuver. Neptune locked on a truck and fired his lasers. Short laser strands eviscerated the truck's hull, and it exploded in a brilliant flash, filling the air with shards and smoke.

The Galleons executed defense pattern but the Wolftrap and the Wolfhound brought the hammer down on them. The LB-10X and PPC easily cracked the Galleon's hull open and singed the parts inside. Two Galleons quickly set ablaze, losing all but one crew. The other two tried to outmaneuver the Wolftrap but the Wolfhound cut their stunt short. Its PPC-laser combo left the Galleons drifting mindlessly in smoke.

Neptune worked together with the Battle Hawk to destroy as many transports as possible. His Medium Pulse lasers, enhanced by the subzero temperature, blitzed like a strobe lights, slicing and dicing unarmed cars without relent. The last of the J-27 cab intentionally disengaged its flatbed and ran full speed, but Neptune poured his lasers on it, reducing the puller into a flaming crate.

The remaining two trucks rolled haplessly toward Nav Point Zeta, and Neptune was lining up his targeting reticule with the cargo vehicles when his radar blinked. A mech mixed lance, presumably a Liao patrol, appeared on his radar and he thought his heart jumped to his throat. A Centurion and a Sentinel rushed toward him, with a Stalker and a Flashman backing them up. The Stalker and Flashman alone carried more steel and firepower than the entire Pursuit Lance. Added to that the speed and agility of the Centurion and Sentinel, and the Pursuit Lance was practically dead in the water.

"Liao heavy and assault mechs spotted!" Neptune reported groggily. "Stalker and Flashman, with Centurion and Sentinel as escorts! We need to get out of here now!"

"Where are them goddamn choppers?!" the lance commander yelled.

"This is Skyzone 211, we're on our way, ETA 2 minutes," the Davion paramilitary responded.

"We can't hold them off for 2 minutes! Get your lazy ass here now!"

"Sir, we can't fight these guys! They're going to kill us!" Neptune hollered in panic. "Let's get out of here!"

"Shut up, Kid! Shut up and fight!" the lance commander yelled. "Concentrate fire on the Centurion and bring it down quick! Fire at will! Give them all you've got!"

Neptune hadn't known the lance commander long enough to understand why he thought they could take on the Liao heavyweights. Maybe he was foolhardy or falling in love with his own legend, and having his own men die for it. Or maybe he was simply following order. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to live long enough to find out anyway. Or so he thought.

The Centurion and the Sentinel launched its missiles at the Wolftrap, forcing it to twist. The Wolftrap realigned its weapons, but the Centurion fired its big autocannon, blowing a hole on the Wolftrap's right shoulder. The Wolftrap reeled again, wobbling on its knees this time. It desperately fired its buckshot cannon at the Centurion, but the Sentinel's HEAP tore into its left torso, throwing off its aim. The submunitions flew a few meters above the Centurion's head as the Wolftrap hung on for dear life.

Neptune put his Hermes on MASC and circled the Centurion. As the Liao mech fixed its targeting reticule on the Wolftrap, Neptune sneaked behind its back and buried cascaded shots into the Centurion's shank. The Centurion jerked. It twisted as far as the gyro allowed to catch the Hermes, but Neptune kept circling, avoiding the Centurion's line of fire, while throwing laser barbs after laser barbs at the bigger mech. The Centurion rear armor glowed in orange glory.

But Neptune was too engrossed in taking down the Centurion to notice the Flashman and Stalker joining the fray. His proximity alarm wailed, and before he could address it, a sharp laser strike from the Flashman raked the Hermes' right arm. The console went haywire as the arm Medium Laser went offline. Acrid smell of burnt myomer reeked into the cockpit. Neptune twisted her mech to access the new threat, but a swarm of Artemis-guided missiles from the Stalker found mark on his midsection. The jarring explosions almost threw Neptune off his seat. The left arm flew spinning in the air. The sudden loss of mass toppled the Hermes, and next time Neptune opened his eyes, he was lying on his back, staring at the drab grey sky.

It took a while for Neptune to come to his senses, but when he did, he turned his joystick around, coaxing his mech to get up. It was not easy to get on its feet with only one hand, but he finally pulled his mech back up. Tanks roared on his left and right, and helicopters screamed above his head, pounding the Liao mechs with missiles.

"Come on, Davion slackers! Kick them Liao asses back to Capella!" the lance commander hollered.

The tanks and gunships rained down their firepower on the Centurion and Sentinel. The entire vicinity came to life with explosions. The medium mechs lost armor at blinding rate. And when armor was gone, limbs followed. Bits of weapons and structures flew every which way. The Liao medium mechs managed to bring down a couple gunships before Davion saturated bombing put them out of commission.

The Stalker and Flashman, however, were still out of the Davion's reach, and their long-range weapons quickly wreaked havoc on the gunship formation. Three Cavalry-Attack helicopters exploded midair, and the burning debris chastised the snow like meteors. The remaining gunships teamed up with the tanks and charged the Liao mechs, but the Stalker and Flashman kept firing their weapons with deadly precision. By the time they brought their guns to bear, their number had dwindled to less than half.

"Come on, Men! Get yerr asses up and fight! Yerr kins in arms rely on you!" the lance commander rallied the mechs. "Fight! Fight! Fight to the death!"

Neptune didn't know how much fight he had left with only one operational Medium Pulse laser. But he dove into battle anyway. He locked his thumb on the trigger, firing his pulse laser in continuous fashion. The energy bolts scourged the Flashman's leg. The Flashman chose to ignore him to deal with the bigger threats, and Neptune made it pay. It's leg armor drooped into a grotesque sag, and a couple strands perforated the internal structure. Its gait turned wobbly.

Then the Stalker showcased why it was the mainstay of Successor Houses' armies for so many years. A strand of large laser sheared the Hermes' remaining arm right on the elbow. A kaleidoscope of medium lasers gutted the light mech's torso, leaving only spots of armor remaining. The Stalker's missile boxes lit up in full fury, and only by sheer dumb luck that only 2 missiles hit the Hermes on the leg, where the armor still had enough beef to dull the assault. The hits, however, sent the Hermes sprawling.

Neptune thought it was over. His mech had nothing left. He pulled his mech back up, wondering how a single Medium Pulse laser would make a difference against the big assault mech. But the Stalker left him alone, switching target to protect the Flashman. Its laser shredded the Wolftrap to ribbons. As the Wolftrap retreated, the Stalker turned its attention to the Battle Hawk and Wolfhound, firing its missiles in a wide arc to keep the light mechs away from the damaged Flashman.

Neptune was tempted to stab the Stalker in the back when Commander Korra's voice erupted in his earpiece, "Mission accomplished. HPG down. All units, proceed to Nav Point Epsilon! Bust your asses, people!"

"Yerr hear the lady! Come on, Lance! Haul ass!" the lance commander screamed while his mangled Wolftrap zoomed past the Hermes. Its prized LB-10X was gone, replaced by decrepit metal tongues with rough edges. Its legs were mere titanium beams with shredded myomers. But it could still move past 90 kph. The Wolfhound and Battle Hawk shared the same fate. Smoke and fire and molten armor blended into barely-recognizable metal structures.

Neptune didn't think twice before he engaged his MASC and catapulted his Hermes to 150-kph bullet. He couldn't wait to get out of there. He crisscrossed his path, avoiding missile lock from the Stalker. Laser strands whizzed past him left and right, but none of them came close to hurting him. The two Liao mechs fell farther and farther behind, until they disappeared completely from radar. Then, and only then, Neptune let out his big sigh of relief.

The path to Nav Point Epsilon narrowed into a mountain pass, allowing only one battlemech at a time. Neptune followed the path until it took him to the summit of a hill, where a Davion paramilitary base was waiting for the mechs. Davion combat vehicles scattered around the dropships. Several Long Tom units stood at the ready by the cliff, and anti-aircraft emplacements protected the base from Liao air raids.

One by one the Legends mechs trickled in, carrying extensive battle damages, but otherwise moving with their own power. Korra's Awesome was barely intact, dragging cables and shredded myomers as it limped around the base. Drew's Jagermech seemed to be in the best condition, although it too lost most of its armor.

"Great job, Legends," Korra debriefed the company. "The mission was a success. With everything that had happened, I think this is as far as we can do for the Davions. I will negotiate with Major Fernandes. It's time to go home and spend those Davion riches."

Neptune couldn't wait to return to Lexington to tell everything to Carissa.